we would like to think jennifer dobson and her staff, the facilities and public relations teams, the navy and technology folks, and everyone else who has helped put this together, including the staff at the earthrights international. this is being co-sponsored by a program on comparative and environmental law and the international legal studies program. before i introduced the speakers, for those interested, we are also hosting a conference october 15 about the human rights system. you can check the website for more information about that conference. in its first argument of the term, the supreme court heard the arguments in -- rearguments in kiobel versus dutch petroleum, under the human rights claims act court. -- tort. we talk about the alien tort statute. in the order in which they are speaking, to my left is katie redford, the co-founder and u.s. office director of earthrights international. paul hoffman is the lead counsel for the plaintiffs. john bollinger -- bellinger is a former legal adviser for the department of state and offered an amicus brief. andrew grossman is a little fel